#godmoding

a lot of us, if not all of us, know that godmoding, in its most basic form, is another rp’er taking control of another persons character without permission.  this can be anything, from something as destructive as taking out the other character in combat by making them be unable to dodge (that should be their muns call, not yours) to something as seemingly helpful as coming up with positive events that happened between characters that did not exist in any rp and that are not traits that the character has ever shown to have or skills they aren’t shown to know.  an example of this could be a character winning an “off screen” game against an experienced player when they’ve never been shown to even know the game.  this, however, is not the only thing that godmoding is. 

godmoding can also be taking complete control of the environment that the the rp takes place in.  now, this doesn’t mean that a natural progression is somehow godmoding, there is a difference between two people working their way through a dungeon, each rp’er leading the story along, adding monsters and twists and turns, and two people going through a dungeon where whatever one rp’er does is changed by the other to suit their own needs. 

   Roleplay Rules of Engagement: Godmoding Disambiguation

If you want to avoid the cardinal sin known as Godmoding (also called Godmodding) in written roleplay, here's what you need to know. This is so important, in maintaining healthy roleplay relationships.

Landing Blows: You can decide if the assault lands, but not the result of impact. Ludicrous as it may be, sometimes a blow hard enough to knock a foe down won't.  Sometimes a kick to the boys won't result in soprano, and sometimes a slap won't make a person's head turn 90 degrees.  The result is up to the one on the receiving end.  Writing in that a person has a reaction is considered Godmoding, because you're taking away that actor's choice to react as their character would.

Landing Spells (or any manner of supernatural attack): Not every spell or attack is going to hit.  Truly, more should than will, but whether they do is dependent upon the recipient, and not the caster, because they have a definite outcome, and you have to allow your writing partner a degree of free will.

Age: Age makes no difference, in regards to ownership of the characters.  It doesn't matter if the character is one day old or one thousand years old, if the character belongs to someone else, and you do not have express consent to write as that character, DO NOT write as that character.  It is hurtful and frustrating, when it happens.

Laws Of Ownership: If you play the spouse of a character who is not being played by anyone, and is not dead, then for plotting purposes, you can own the actions of that character.  If no one plays that first spouse, ownership falls to the children, or else parents of said character, depending on which is more situationally appropriate, because they dictate the story, as it plays it out, for those characters.  If you wish to command the story of one of these not played characters (non-player characters, or NPCs), then you should first ask the spouse/child/parent's actor if you can apply to play their spouse/parent/child first, or if you can fill in plot for their spouse/parent/child for the duration of a specific story arc. To give you some example of what this means, I'll demonstrate some scenarios. 1) Bob and Sally are married. They are acquainted with Jim. No one plays Bob. Someone plays Sally.  Sally's actor has full say over whatever Bob does/says.  Always.   If Jim's actor wishes to control any aspect of Bob, he should first ask Sally's actor's permission. 2) Bob and Sally are married. They are acquainted with Jim. They have a child by the name of Billy.   No one plays Bob. Someone plays Sally.   Sally's actor has say over what Bob does, not Billy's or Jim's actors. 3) Bob and Sally are married. They are acquainted with Jim. They have a child by the name of Billy.   No one plays Bob or plays Sally.   Billy's actor has say over what Bob or Sally do, not Jim's actor. 4) Bob and Sally are kids. They are acquainted with Jim. They have a parent by the name of Chris.   No one plays Bob or Sally.   Chris does have an actor.  Chris's actor has say over what Bob or Sally do, not Jim's actor. 5) Bob and Sally are married. They are acquainted with Jim. They have a parent by the name of Chris. They have a child named Billy. No one plays Bob or Sally.   Chris and Billy both have their own actors.  Billy's actor has say over what Bob or Sally do, because they belong to the same domestic unit, and neither Chris's actor nor Jim's actor has that connection or right. As always, if Jim's actor wants to control one of the NPCs in any scenario, he must seek the permission of the actor of the most appropriate relative.  If you do not, you are godmoding, even if the character that you are controlling is an NPC, because that NPC's actions and choices directly affect the outcome of the other person's actor.

Acceptable Godmoding: Godmoding is ONLY acceptable with permission from the owner of the character, or the 'owner' of the NPC.  In cases where the character's actor has granted permission to another player, to move certain plots along, it can be done, but it should only be done in that specific context.